Don’t Underestimate Republican Hatred

It’s been a rough go for the Republicans of late. They’ve seen their Benghazi scandal, so carefully cultivated, go up in smoke. A confirmed ringleader of the Benghazi attacks, Ahmed Abu Khattala, has been captured, and stated that the infamous video mocking Islam was his motivation. A major GOP talking point is dead, just like that.

Hillary Clinton sat calmly between two Fox News anchors, quashing all questions and allegations about Benghazi. Clinton’s cool and collected demeanor has been in stark contrast to the screaming outrage from Republicans. She has remained unaffected by constant and repeated attacks, and easily walked into and back out of the lion’s den at Fox.

Hillary has even challenged the gun lobbies, traditional Republican allies, remarking that a minority of Americans is bullying the majority. This was unthinkable even a few years ago, but the gun lobbies have been losing a lot of traction due to constant shooting tragedies, tone deaf responses to same, and the outright zealous actions of their fringe groups such as Open Carry Texas.

Fox News is the hub of Republican publicity, and even they have had a rough go of things lately. Hillary outclassed them, and they had to call out Dick Cheney for his near universally reviled Wall Street Journal piece and YouTube video with his daughter. When your greatest opponent casually swats you aside in the same week that you have to chastise two of your own? That’s not a good week.

No. Ultimately, a bad week for Republicans isn’t going to matter much. Dick Cheney is going to continue spewing his bile, regardless of how many rebukes he gets or who they’re from. His daughter Liz will continue to look for a claw hold in politics, no matter how many previous failures she has had.

The Cheneys can’t even keep their family cohesive, but we’re to expect they know what’s best for the nation? Of course not. And they were pilloried for the gall of saying so. But it won’t stop them, they’ll just keep coming. They know they’ll always have an audience for their message.

In Virginia, Eric Cantor was taken down by a fringe candidate who was completely unknown just last month. Anti-immigrant advocate Dave Brat is the next Representative of Cantor’s district. Know why? It wasn’t because of the money. It was because of who showed up. Cantor lost to Brat due to a grand total of not even 8% of that district’s registered voters turning out.

The Republican fringe is filled with hatred. They are the ones coming out (no pun intended) against gays and railing about immigrants. Conservatives might not admit that their base is full of hatred and bigotry, but it remains the case. The Tea Party, especially, is rife with racial hatred and religious sanctimony. Historically, this has always been a dangerous combination.

Hatred is a powerful motivator. People might not necessarily come out to vote for a candidate they like, but if they absolutely loathe someone, they’ll be at the polls for certain. The Tea Party Tidal Wave of 2010 and Cantor’s shocking defeat are two examples of how powerful fringe minorities can be.

Eric Cantor wasn’t conservative enough for these people. That’s still very tough to believe.

So, prepare for more Dick Cheney dog whistles. More Rick Perry malaprops. Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, all the cast and crew at Fox, Blaze, breitbart.com, Sarah Palin, Louie Gohmert, the Tea Party, and every single Republican who has said something awful or stupid, they’re going to keep it up.

Republicans are not all hateful. But in the current state of American politics, the GOP knows it can count on support gleaned from the anger of their base. So they’ll continue throwing red meat to them. They’ll continue whipping them up into a froth. Conservatives depend on it and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

The only way to stop hatred is at the polls. If you don’t vote, you are conceding victory to an extremist fringe. You will only have yourself to blame for that. The government shutdown? The obstructionism? The Do Nothing Congress? You ain’t seen nothing yet.

This is not a new story, but we need to be reminded of it again and again.

Chad R. MacDonald has a degree in English Literature from Cape Breton University and subsequently received a full scholarship to AMDA in New York. He is a former security professional, a veteran of the hospitality industry, and experienced in administration and the arts. He loves baseball, hockey, marine photography, science, New York City, and his family. He lives in Hell's Kitchen with his wife and son and their gigantic cat.Chad also writes for spoiledNYC.com, quietmike.org, and contributes at politicalmoll.com. You can follow him on Twitter @ChadMac19 and on Facebook as well!